Necktie holder



Sept. 23, 1969 J, A, SMITH 3,467,993

NECKTIE HOLDER Filed Oct. 30. 1967 lNVEN'l'OR Wes ,4. 5272221@ ff ATTORNEY 3,467,993 NECKTIE HOLDER `lames A. Smith, 50() N. Wilson St., Metairie, La. 70003 Filed Oct. 30, 1967, Ser. No. 679,134 Int. Cl. A41d 25/04 U.S. Cl. 24-50 1 Claim ABSTRACT F THE DISCLOSURE Background of the invention There has long been a need for a very inexpensive holder for four-in-hand neckties which will position the necktie properly at the front of the shirt without employing means which penetrates the tie or grips the tie clampingly. Such a holding device ideally should be invisible during use and should be capable of holding the tie without damaging the same in any way. Numerous hardware-type clasps, chains, pins, clips and the like have been proposed in the prior art but all of these items present the possibility of snagging, tearing, twisting or damaging the necktie fabric which is freqently delicate and quite expensive. Certain other prior art devices involve magnets which are expensive and awkward to use and pin elements which require penetrating the tie.

It has also been proposed to apply a label to the necktie during the manufacturing thereof, said label serving as a holder for the interior branch of the tie. While this arrangement prevents separation of the two tie branches, it does not position the entire tie relative to the shirt front. In any event, permanent attachments on the necktie are undesirable and complicate the manufacturing process and add to the cost of the necktie. Where a label or loop is attached permanently to the tie, it is impractical to provide a buttonhole in such loop or attachment because this requires typing of the necktie in a precise manner at each wearing. If the necktie is not tied with great care at each wearing, the loop attachment will not be aligned with one of the shirt buttons.

Summary of the invention In .accordance with the present invention, a narrow band or loop formed of cloth or paper is provided and is formed entirely separately of the necktie and shirt. The loop can be made so inexpensively that it can, if desired, be a one use disposable item furnished without charge to the customer by dry cleaners, necktie manufacturers, or the like. The back of the loop has a buttonhole for engagement with any shirt button. The front exterior face of the loop carries a slightly tacky pressuresensitive adhesive. The rear branch of the necktie engages through the loop and the front branch of the tie is secured adhesively and readily detachably to the front of the loop. The loop is entirely concealed during use and yet iirmly anchors the necktie to the shirt front without causing any damage to either apparel item.

Brief description of the drawing FIGURE 1 is a front elevation of a necktie and holder in accordance with the invention;

FIGURE 2 is a further front elevational view with the forwardmost branch of the tie broken away to reveal the holder loop;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged fragmentary horizontal section taken on line 3 3 of FIGURE l States Patent O ice FIGURE 4 is a perspective view of the necktie holder; and

FIGURE 5 is a similar perspective view showing a modication.

Description of the preferred embodiment Referring to the drawing, wherein like numerals designate like parts, the numeral 10 designates a four-in-hand necktie having a forward or outer branch 11 and a rearward or interior branch 12. A portion of a conventional shirt front is indicated by the numeral 13 and one of the usual shirt closure buttons is shown at 14. The remainder of the buttons on the shirt front are omitted from the drawings for clarity.

The invention necktie holder comprises an endless band or loop 15 formed of cloth, paper or the like flexible material. The loop or band is laterally elongated and is of suicient width to receive the interior branch 12 of the necktie therethrough with adequate clearance as shown in the drawing. The rear side of the loop 15 is provided centrally with a buttonhole 16 to receive the selected button 14 of the shirt therethrough, as shown in FIG- URE 3.

The forward side of the loop A15 is coated on its exterior surface with .a coating 17 of any suitable pressuresensitive adhesive of a type which will adhere to cloth without adversely effecting the cloth. Many such adhesives are known and are readily available commercially.

The forward branch 11 of the necktie is arranged forwardly of the loop 15 during use and is merely pressed against the adhesive coated face of the loop and is thus effectively held in place while being readily releasable at any desired time.

As stated, the loop or band 15 may be made of any fabric or paper, foil or the like, Aand if desired, may be a one use item. It does not damage the necktie or shirt in any way and all hardware such as clasps, pins, gripping jaws and the like are dispensed with. The loop or holder is fully concealed during use and yet effectively prevents displacement of the necktie. It is again emphasized that the loop does not form a permanent attachment to the necktie or shirt and is a separately formed element. Thus, the manufacturing of the necktie is not complicated by the invention or rendered more expensive. Additionally, since the loop 15 does not form a part of the tie or shirt, no problem arises concerning the precise manner of tying the necktie and regardless of the manner or tying, the invention loop will always be applicable to any desired shirt button at a chosen elevation on the shirt and will always be capable to receive the interior branch 12 and of adhering to the rear face of the forward branch 11 of the necktie.

In FIGURE 5, there is shown a modication of the invention wherein essentially the same band or loop 15 is employed having buttonhole 16' for the stated purpose. Instead of the adhesive coating 17 on the forward side of the loop, preferably a pair of small spaced upright pins 17 are anchored to the loop in any conventional manner with their pointed ends facing upwardly. These pins are spaced only slightly forwardly of the loop and are arranged to penetrate the forward branch 11 of the necktie and hold the same in the same manner and for the same purpose described in connection with the previous embodiment. Since the pins 17' face upwardly, there will be a natural and easy entry of these pins into the forward branch of the necktie as the latter is moved downwardly in the tying operation. Also, the pins will not necessitate the precise tying of the necktie with the forward branch at any particular length and the manner of tying may vary without effecting the utility of the invention.

It is :believed that the important advantages of both species of the invention over the prior art and the economies of the invention will now be readily apparent without the necessity for further description.

I claim:

1. A necktie holder particularly for a four-in-hand necktie having a forward wide branch and a rearward relatively narrow branch, said holder comprising .a unitary endless band of exible sheet material of sulcient width to encircle the narrow branch of the necktie and to be concealed behind the forward wide branch during use, said band having a single buttonhole slit formed in its rear side centrally .and adapted to receive a shirt button I 4 the band engageable with the rear face of the forward wide branch of the necktie to prevent displacement thereof during use.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,029,597 2/ 193 6 Thomas. 2,601,424 6/1952 Baker. 2,755,530 7/ 1956 Martin. 3,042,983 7/ 1962 Riedler.

FOREIGN PATENTS 217,723 10/ 1958 Australia. 934,282 10/1955 Germany.

DONALD A. GRIFFIN, Primary Examiner 

